


The Chain

by IHidMyFaceFromYouNoMore



Category: Eroica Yori Ai o Komete | From Eroica with Love
Genre: Comedy But With a Faux-Philosophical Twist, Established Relationship, M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 13:15:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21969904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IHidMyFaceFromYouNoMore/pseuds/IHidMyFaceFromYouNoMore
Summary: Klaus lives in a part of Dorian's world on accident when he puts on some of his jewelry.
Relationships: Klaus von dem Eberbach & Dorian Red Gloria, Klaus von dem Eberbach/Dorian Red Gloria
Comments: 9
Kudos: 14





	The Chain

The spartan Bonn apartment had gotten an attitude-check as of late. A half-filled closet now saw foreign fabrics. The nightstand held new secrets. The kitchen table had a day-old English newspaper on it. Little clues adorned the place now. 

Sunlight threatened to pour through the blinds in the bedroom. Klaus woke up because of his circadian instinct to awaken at the same time every morning. Despite old habits, he decided not to get up right away.  Instead he turned to see Dorian still lying beside him, sleeping soundly. Klaus had his morning planned out for him, then. 

Dorian didn’t take long, though, and he broke the seal as he sighed awake and looked over at Klaus. The Earl somehow always woke up with a smile, Klaus found. He was almost tempted to smile back. 

Dorian greeted him with his eyes. “What time is it, my heart?” 

The Major reached for his wristwatch on the nightstand. “Six forty-two.” 

Dorian stretched a little. “Ah, I have to make a phone call while I still can, then.” 

“Before seven in the morning?” 

“I have some unfinished business with a fellow in Melbourne and I've got to catch him before his shop closes.” Dorian got up and found one of his many dressing gowns thrown carelessly on the floor. “Sorry about the long distance. I’ll punish James with it later. Just send me the bill.” 

Klaus gestured for Dorian to come back to him. “Don’t bother. We don’t need him nagging you any more than the usual amount.” His remark made Dorian beam as he leaned down to kiss his sleepy beauty. Dorian eventually tore himself away to go and slide open the blinds before he went to the kitchen where the phone was. 

On mornings like these, Klaus reveled in his slothfulness. The office was only ten minutes away, he didn’t have to feel bad about getting up later than usual. He just laid back in their bed and looked around while waiting for Dorian to return. 

There were a few new additions on the nightstand, most notably some of Dorian’s jewelry. As Klaus laid down his watch on the oak, his hand found one of the bracelets the Earl loved to wear. It was a light, golden chain, simple and yet gaudy. At least in Klaus’ own taste. He still picked it up to examine closer. 

It tinkled lightly when he moved it around. The slack chain didn’t look like much, but maybe Klaus would understand if it was around a wrist. He had asked himself for so many years why Dorian wore these things. Now was an opportunity to understand a little better. 

With a little finesse, the Major clasped the bracelet around his wrist and turned his hand around in the sunlight. It was in so many ways different from wearing his watch. Though Dorian would probably tell him that was a form of bracelet, too. Klaus would try not to agree, though he knew it to be true. No, the Major didn’t see the appeal as he turned the chain around to see it from all sides. He'd take his watch any day over this. 

He found the little closure on it and fiddled with it to get it open. It proved a little more difficult than he had thought. He'd seen Dorian take it off many times now, and he made it look so easy. Well, Klaus had probably not watched that closely. But now it was starting to annoy him, the little mechanism wouldn’t budge no matter how he turned and pressed it. The chain was not long enough to slide over his hand, either. 

_Oh, no._

It was thoroughly stuck. The lock wouldn’t open. Oh, God, the lock wouldn’t open. Klaus was torn between ripping at it and attempting to sort of lock-pick it so as to not damage the bracelet. It was, after all, a treasured piece of jewelry that Dorian had had for years. He had worn it almost every day since before they’d first met, if the Major remembered correctly. He decided to stop fiddling with it and _think_ , dammit. 

However, time would not allow that. Dorian’s robe swished into the doorway again. Klaus’ first and ultimate reaction was to tuck his wrist into his naked armpit, looking cramped instantly. 

Dorian seemed amused as he approached and climbed aboard the bed again. “What are you doing?” 

“Nothing, I’m not doing anything.” Klaus croaked. So much for NATO intelligence training, he couldn’t even come up with a convincing lie. 

Dorian's face changed. “You don’t look so good. Are you hurt? Why are you clutching your chest?” He laid a hand on the arm that was tensely plastered to the Major’s breast. 

Now, this is when Klaus could have done what was arguably best for the situation and come clean, just show his wrist and explain the situation. Instead, he painfully rolled over so as to shield his wrist in an even more suspicious way. “It’s nothing. Don't worry.” 

Dorian sure wasn’t worried anymore. He was miffed. “What _are_ you doing? You're hiding something, what is it?” 

Klaus buried his face in the pillow so as to not face judgement. “I’m fine. I’m not hurt. Can you call a locksmith?” He uttered in a muffled whisper. 

Dorian went from miffed to puzzled all over again. “ _What_? What are you talking about, a locksmith? _I'm_ a locksmith as a byproduct of my job — call me, then!” 

Ah, _verdammt._ There was no way to get out of this. Klaus' mission had failed. A stifled sigh came from the pillow. 

“I did something stupid. And now I can’t get out.” Instead of turning to look at Dorian’s no doubt disapproving expression, Klaus held his offending wrist out. He heard an understanding ‘oh’. He felt Dorian gently take his wrist to examine closer. Dorian's soft hands didn’t seem to be angry with Klaus for taking their beloved bracelet. 

“Sit up, you big oaf. I can’t do this while you’re slack as a ragdoll.” Dorian’s voice, however, was not amused. But he still had a teasing tone that told Klaus that all was forgiven.  The Major rolled over and got up, unusually red-faced, trying not to look Dorian in the eye. “I’m sorry.” 

Dorian had often wanted to have the high ground, to be the strict one, just once. But he couldn’t bring himself to it in the end. “Don’t be, dear. It's more flattering to me than anything else. I thought you hated fanciful things such as gold bracelets. Or that you hate them when they’re on you.” 

“And I do. I just — fell victim to curiosity.” Klaus’ usually booming voice was meek. The embarrassment was too much for him to bear. 

“The only jewelry I’ve seen you wear before was your medals. And they barely count.”  Dorian recalled the mass of commendations adorning the Major that one time he witnessed(in cognito, of course) one of those ceremonies Klaus had to attend. The militant quality of the ornaments fell into that chasm of the abstinent meeting the erotic, in Dorian’s opinion. It's that same chasm that contained the Leopard tank that Dorian stole so many fateful years ago. 

Then the Earl recalled that night in Istanbul when they were digging for treasure together. Dorian had almost succeeded in dressing Klaus in emeralds. Alas, the Major had been deep in denial then. Maybe it was time to give it another try. 

“I think a bracelet can suit everyone. Though for you, I would have chosen silver. Or stainless steel, of course.” Iron does not fine jewelry make, unfortunately. 

Klaus grumbled ambiguously. “I need to get this one off me first before you go gallivanting to Cartier.” 

Dorian was trying not to show it, but he really didn’t know why or how the bracelet was stuck. The lock could have broken inside. _Uh, oh_. 

“That might be trickier than I previously thought — I can’t pick this lock.” _Can pick the Louvre, but I can’t pick a bracelet lock, what kind of thief am I?_

Klaus went quiet. The machine in his head was calculating. But it came up short. “I have to be at the office in thirty minutes.” 

A panicked staring contest ensued. But Dorian gathered his wits before long. “You’ll just have to disguise it for today. Or maybe the Alphabets — won’t care.” 

Klaus had to laugh, bitterly. “Those idiots can’t keep you from burgling the Louvre but believe me, they’d notice this! It's all they’re gonna talk about for weeks.” 

Dorian still tried to spin the situation. “So? You’re above all criticism, aren’t you? Let them talk their talk.” 

Klaus grumbled some more. He decided to get dressed and think meanwhile. With his shirt and suit-jacket on, the bracelet was only visible if he stretched his arm out or held his hand so that gravity pulled it downwards. Dorian wished him luck when he got out the door, still with no plan. 

In an uneventful twist, no-one noticed the Major’s wrist the rest of that day. And the Alphabets weren’t less clingy or anything out of the usual, it just didn't show by pure luck. After a while, Klaus forgot that it was there until his day was done and he heard it tinkle against his wrist. He had forgotten to worry about it. Dorian's bracelet was not so heavy a burden after all. 

Home at the apartment again, Klaus met Dorian with a kiss though the Earl had something important to tell him. “I got my friend Heinrich to come, he’s an expert jeweler. Come through to the dining room when you’re ready.” Klaus didn’t object. He took his coat and jacket off and looked at the bracelet once more. 

This Heinrich fellow managed to get the lock open in a matter of minutes. Then he repaired it so that it wouldn’t happen again. All the while, Klaus watched the gold being tinkered with. Dorian thanked the fellow with a generous check and sent him on his way. 

Klaus picked the bracelet up in silence, looking at it the way he had this morning. He realized it was like a very small piece of Dorian he could hold in his hand. He didn’t know what to do with that thought until a hand came to rest on his shoulder. 

“Did you get any funny looks? Did the Chief make dumb remarks on your newfound interest in accessorizing?” Dorian sat down beside him. 

Klaus laid the bracelet down on the table to look at him. “No. None. You were right, I _could_ hide it effectively.” Klaus had only been anxious that he couldn’t. The only person he hadn’t been able to keep the bracelet from that whole day was Dorian after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> /butters on thick metaphor and analogies on this fic sandwich/
> 
> get it ??? i - you see, it's like - like? y'know?? 
> 
> please comment if you have any thoughts or just want to talk to me, i'm generally starved for interaction with other members of the Eroica fandom so please - like, you can tell me your favorite headcanon or something ! i'd love to hear it.


End file.
